Errare Est Humanum
by Khanayda
Summary: An encounter with Team Rocket goes awry...
1. Chapter 1

The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own any of its characters. The story, however, is my own original work. Please note that this story may be posted on other websites under the pen name KFSevenSoviet, which is also mine, though I no longer use it.

Errare Est Humanum

By Khanayda

Chapter 1

It was a lovely spring day in Kanto as Ash, Brock and Misty were making their way to the next town in search of another badge and another adventure.

"Tra-la-la-la-laaah!"

Ash and Brock sang happily as they skipped down the path, arm in arm. Misty followed sullenly behind them, carrying Pikachu and all the luggage. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Oh for the love of god, will you two SHUT THE HELL UP?!"

Misty threw a rice ball at the duo. She missed, and this made her even angrier. She then threw Togepi at them, nailing Ash in the back of the head with the hard-shelled pokemon. Togepi fell to the dirt, whereupon it rolled around, squeaking happily. Ash and Brock stopped singing and skipping, and turned around. Ash rubbed the back of his head.

"Geez, Misty, lighten up. We're just trying to enjoy this beautiful day, you don't have to be such a bitch about it."

"Well maybe I would be in a better mood if I didn't have to carry all this stuff while you two fruitcakes are singing!!"

Brock leaned over to Ash. "Time of the month," he muttered in Ash's ear.

"I heard that!" Misty screamed. "And anyway, what are you thinking? I'm only twelve!"

"Oh, right…"

Ash looked quizzically up at Brock. "Hey Brock, what does 'time of the month' mean?"

Brock's face turned a deep scarlet. "Urm, uh…ask your mother."

Ash stared at Brock a while longer, then sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. You older people sure are weird."

About a mile farther along the path, Jessie, James and Meowth sat amidst a clump of bushes eagerly plotting their next move.

"Ha ha, we've got them this time!" James said excitedly. "My new plan is absolutely foolproof!"

"Speaking of which," Meowth said, "Jessie, did you bring da net?"

"Of course I brought the net!" Jessie snapped. "How dumb do you think I am?" She reached inside her shirt and pulled out a large net. "Here's your precious net."

James and Meowth said nothing. Meowth just looked at her with a look on his face that fell somewhere between amusement and disgust. James couldn't stop giggling.

"You put it _there_?" Meowth asked skeptically. "How did you fit that entire net in your top?"

"Hey, Jessie," James choked out between fits of giggling, "What else do you keep in there?"

"Well, let's see…" Jessie began rummaging through her blouse. "Some yarn, a screwdriver, a flashlight, matches, a box of Cuban cigars, this cassette tape of Burt Bacharach's greatest hits, a change of socks, a small watermelon…"

After about five minutes Jessie removed the last trinket (an autographed copy of "1984") and put it on top of a pile of items large enough to fill a suitcase. James and Meowth stared in amazement.

"How did you fit all of dat in your top?" Meowth asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Jessie replied in her most seductive voice. Meowth continued to gawk in disbelief, and James deftly nodded his head and began to drool a little, his eyes still fixed on Jessie's cleavage. Meowth noticed this and brought James back to reality with a taste of his sharp claws.

"Ouch, Meowth, that hurt…"

"Quit yer whinin', ya wuss!"

"Shut up you two, here they come!" Jessie growled. James and Meowth immediately ended their argument and wriggled further into the cover of the bushes with Jessie.

"Me?! I'm not being insensitive, you are!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Keep arguing about it, guys, that's _really_ helping…"

Ash, Brock and Misty were still arguing with one another as they approached Team Rocket's hiding spot. When the trio was about two meters from the bushes, Jessie, James and Meowth burst forth and planted themselves directly in the path of the arguing trainers.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the sta- …wait…"

Jessie and James stopped repeating their motto. Ash, Misty and Brock had apparently not noticed Team Rocket's arrival. They were too busy arguing.

"Well if you hadn't been so busy chasing after _every_ Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny we run into-"

"Yeah, well, you're just jealous because you can't even pick up a pokemon…"

"You're both losers! Shut up and let me get a word in edgewise, will ya?"

"Misty, you've been talking this whole time! We can't get you to shut up!"

Jessie and James stood and watched as the three trainers continued to argue. James waved his arms and jumped up and down.

"Hellooo? Look over here, look at me!"

"You little brats, pay attention to us!"

"Hey you two, look what I got!" Meowth said happily. He was dragging a net behind him in which Pikachu sat pouting.

"Meowth, you did it!" Jessie exclaimed, hugging Meowth.

"Hey! Get off me!"

"We finally captured Pikachu, we finally captured Pikachu…" James sang, dancing around and clapping his hands.

"Hey, shut up, they'll hear ya!" Meowth whispered angrily.

"Not bloody likely," Jessie scoffed. "They haven't noticed us this whole time."

At that instant, Ash, Misty and Brock stopped arguing and looked up at Team Rocket.

"Hey, they've got my Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"Let's get 'em!" Brock barked. The three trainers pulled out their pokeballs.

"Damn," Jessie muttered.

"Aww, poo," James said.

"You idiots!" Meowth yelled as he gave Jessie and James each a hard scratch on the shins. "Use yer pokemon or dey'll get deir Pikachu back!"

"Oh yeah! Pokemon!" Jessie and James each retrieved their own pokeballs and threw them.

"Arbok, Weezing, get those twerps!"

Arbok and Weezing started towards the twerp trio as they deployed their own pokemon.

"I'll handle this one!" Brock said confidently, tossing a pokeball. "Geodude! I choose you!"

The pokeball hit the ground and Geodude burst forth.

"Geodude, Explosion!" Brock shouted, pointing at Team Rocket. Geodude bounced over to Jessie, James and Meowth and blew up. Jessie and James were sent flying; they didn't even have time to remark on their "blasting off again." Meowth jumped in surprise and then took off running after Jessie and James. "Wait for Meowth!"

"Well, that takes care of that!" Ash stated triumphantly. "Come on guys, we're only a couple dozen miles away from the next gym!" He and Brock started off again, with Misty following behind them grumbling and dragging all the bags and the net that contained the disgruntled Pikachu.

_That's it for chapter one! Hope you enjoyed, and as always, reviews are welcome._


	2. Chapter 2

The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own any of its characters. The story, however, is my own original work. Please note that this story may be posted on other websites under the pen name KFSevenSoviet, which is also mine, though I no longer use it.

Last time:

"_Geodude, Explosion!__" Brock shouted, pointing at Team Rocket. Geodude bounced over to Jessie, James and Meowth and blew up. Jessie and James were sent flying; they didn't even have time to remark on their "blasting off again." Meowth jumped in surprise and then took off running after Jessie and James. "__Wait for Meowth!__"_

"_Well, that takes care of that!__" Ash stated triumphantly. "__Come on guys, we're only a couple dozen miles away from the next gym!__" He and Brock started off again, with Misty following behind them grumbling and dragging all the bags and the net that contained the disgruntled Pikachu._

Chapter 2

About half a mile away, there was a small clearing filled with rocks and shrubs. Birds were chirping happily and an occasional Caterpie crawled lazily through the long grass.

Team Rocket fell from the sky and landed with a loud 'thwack' right on top of a particularly large rock, atop which a now flattened Kakuna had been lounging.

Ash and Brock, having ended their argument, had now returned to skipping and singing happily. Misty grudgingly followed behind, dragging all the pokemon and equipment. She sighed loudly.

"Misty, what's wrong?" Ash asked, his voice filled more with curiosity than concern.

"We've been walking for a long time," Misty complained, "and I'm really getting tired. Also I'm starting to get blisters on my hands from dragging this net." Misty dropped the net containing Pikachu, who was now asleep.

"Well, since it's almost time for lunch," Brock said, "why don't we look for a nice spot to have a picnic?"

The trio kept walking for a while until they came to the small clearing.

"Ooh, this looks like a nice spo-"

Ash, Misty and Brock stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Team Rocket. Jessie and James were lying next to each other on top of a large rock, and neither was moving. The two were badly singed and bleeding from several wounds caused by pieces of Ishitubute shrapnel. There was a pool of blood beneath Jessie's head, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of James' mouth.

"Oh god," Misty gasped, "are they-?"

Ash whimpered, unable to speak. Brock slowly approached Jessie and James and gingerly clasped each Rocket's wrist. He backed away.

"They're dead…"

Ash just stared at the dead Rockets in disbelief. Misty began to cry softly.

"Ash," Misty sobbed, "what are we gonna do? I don't wanna go to prison…"

"I…I…" Ash was still unable to speak.

Just then Meowth emerged from the forest into the clearing. He spotted Jessie and James on the rock and rushed over to them.

"Jessie? James?" Meowth asked timidly. "Guys?"

Brock took a step towards Meowth.

"You!"

Meowth spun around to face the three trainers. His eyes flashed angrily.

"You did this!"

"It was a-an accident!" Ash stammered.

"We didn't mean to kill them!" Misty choked. She began to cry harder.

Meowth rushed towards Brock, who was nearest, and began furiously clawing his legs.

"You killed them! You bastards! You killed them! I'll kill you!"

Meowth cried and screamed as he shredded the legs of Brock's pants in his rage.

"You bastards! You bastards! I'll ki-"

There was a loud bang and Meowth fell to the ground as blood started to ooze from a small wound on his head. Ash and Brock turned towards the source of the noise and stared, awestruck, at Misty, who was holding a smoking pistol in her hand.

"I feel better now…"

"Misty…" Ash gasped. "You…"

"Where did you get that gun?" Brock asked in amazement.

"From Pikachu," Misty sniffed as she wiped her eyes with her arm. Ash and Brock turned to look at Pikachu, who had wriggled his way free from the net and was now leaning against the trunk of a tree. He was wearing sunglasses and a tiny leather jacket and was smoking a cigarette.

"…Right…"

"This isn't good, guys," Ash said. "They're dead, and it's our fault. We're gonna be in so much trouble…"

"I'm too pretty to go to prison!" Misty whined. Brock snorted, then remembered that Misty had a gun and bit his tongue.

"What should we do, Brock?" Ash asked. "You're the oldest, you decide…"

"Well," Brock pondered, "we definitely killed them…"

"I'll say…" Misty said, poking James with a stick.

"…So I guess the only right thing to do is turn ourselves in to the police when we reach the next town," Brock finished.

"Oh no!" Misty squealed. She was still poking James with a stick.

"You're just saying that because you want to see Officer Jenny," Ash complained.

"Well, if you're sure…there is one other option…"

"What?" Ash and Misty said together.

"Since we're the only ones who know what happened…if we get rid of the evidence, we should get off scotch-free…"

"But how should we do that?"

While Ash, Brock and Misty discussed their options for disposing of the bodies of the late Team Rocket, Jigglypuff emerged from the shrubs. It happily bounced over to the rock atop which the dead people were lying and took out its magic marker; it then proceeded to draw an 'x' over the eyelids of Jessie, James and Meowth. Satisfied with its work, Jigglypuff replaced the cap on its marker and retreated back into the undergrowth.

"So it's agreed," Brock announced a while later, after the three had finished deliberating. "We find a good spot that's far away from human activity and bury the bodies."

"Great, Brock, but how are we gonna get them there?"

"We carry them, stupid, now come on."

And with that, the three trainers set about covering up their crime. Ash and Misty picked up dead James by his arms and legs and started dragging him through the forest. Pikachu and Togepi followed, carrying dead Meowth. Brock brought up the rear, with dead Jessie in his arms.

_And so concludes chapter two! As always, reviews are welcome._


	3. Chapter 3

The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own any of its characters. The story, however, is my own original work. Please note that this story may be posted on other websites under the pen name KFSevenSoviet, which is also mine, though I no longer use it.

Last time:

_And with that, the three trainers set about covering up their crime. Ash and Misty picked up dead James by his arms and legs and started dragging him through the forest. Pikachu and Togepi followed, carrying dead Meowth. Brock brought up the rear, with dead Jessie in his arms._

Chapter 3

At long last Ash, Misty and Brock stopped in the middle of the forest. Ash and Misty dropped James and began surveying the area.

"This looks like a nice, isolated spot," Ash commented.

Misty sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, it smells like a swamp in here…at least that'll mask the dead body smell…"

"I think this is a perfect spot," Ash said. "What do you think, Brock?"

Ash turned to look at Brock and his jaw dropped. Brock was still carrying dead Jessie, with one arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders, his left hand planted firmly on her cleavage.

"Eew! Brock, you necrophile! Stop that!"

"What's going on?" Misty turned to look at Brock. She immediately gagged and turned away.

"Gross! Brock, what are you doing?"

"What? I was just carrying her!" Brock said defensively. Ash looked at him skeptically. Brock sighed.

"Look, sometimes a guy gets lonely, all right? Now let's get rid of these things before someone discovers us."

The trainers began to dig a large hole, using shovels they had found in Jessie's shirt. As they were digging, Misty's shovel hit something hard.

"What's that?" Misty wondered aloud.

"Beats me," Ash replied, still focused on his work. "Just keep digging."

Misty shrugged her shoulders and went back to work. Before the hole was finished, however, both she and the boys struck the hard object several more times.

When they had finished the hole, Ash, Brock and Misty picked up the lifeless bodies of Team Rocket and dumped them in the hole. They covered the bodies with dirt

and then covered the newly filled hole with twigs, leaves and moss until the area showed no signs of excavation. The three stood back to admire their work.

"Well," Ash panted, leaning on his shovel, "that should do the trick."

"Yeah," Brock agreed, "no one will ever find them now."

"Hey guys," Misty interrupted, "do you feel like the ground is shaking?"

The three trainers were silent for a moment.

Suddenly the ground erupted in a shower of toxic sewer runoff. While they were digging, Ash, Misty and Brock had struck a sewer main. Everything that had been near the fractured pipe spewed into the air, including the bodies of Jessie, James and Meowth. Ash, Misty and Brock could only watch as the Rockets soared into the air, then began to plummet back to earth.

SPLAT.

Jessie, James and Meowth landed with a wet thud on top of Brock. Some faint gagging sounds came from beneath the corpse pile, then there was silence.

"Um, Brock? You okay?"

Ash and Misty leaned in closer to the pile of bodies. They could barely hear panting coming from the very bottom of the pile.

"Hang on, Brock, we'll get 'em off of ya!"

Ash and Misty began peeling the deceased off the pile. First they shoved James aside, then Meowth. That just left Jessie, lying face down on top of Brock, whose head was clearly visible. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open slightly. Ash and Misty could now clearly hear the breath rasping from his lips.

"Hang on, Brock, we've almost got you out!"

Ash and Misty roughly shoved dead Jessie aside. Brock was still lying on the ground panting.

"Brock, what's wrong? We got the bodies off you, you should be able to breathe now…"

Misty glanced down at Brock and turned bright red.

"Hey Brock, is that an Ekans in your pants or are you just happy to see me?"

Brock looked down at his pants, then muttered, "excuse me" and dashed off into the woods.

"Hey Brock, where ya going?" Ash called after him.

Misty thought for a moment, and then something dawned on her.

"EEEEEEWWWW!!" Misty squealed.

When Brock had cooled down and returned to the group, the three trainers started discussing another way to dispose of the dead Rockets. However, no one seemed to be able to concentrate.

"I can't stand it anymore!" Misty whined after a while. "If I don't get this nasty sewer gunk off of me soon, I'll never be able to think!"

"Yeah, I say we go wash up and make camp for the night before we worry about Team Dead-As-A-Doornail here," Brock said.

"Agreed," Ash said, "but we should take the bodies with us just in case. We don't want them to be discovered."

Brock and Misty nodded their approval. Brock started towards dead Jessie.

"Oh no you don't, you pervert," Misty said. She and Ash knocked Brock

out of the way and picked Jessie up themselves. Brock sighed and halfheartedly flung what was left of James over his shoulder. With Pikachu and Togepi once again carrying Meowth, the adventurers set off in search of the river.

An hour later, Ash, Misty and Brock found a steep cliff that dropped off into the river. The water below rushed through a series of jagged rocks towards a waterfall about 30 meters downstream.

"Perfect," Misty said, peering over the cliff edge.

"Finally," Brock sighed. "I'm sick of having James' dead ass right next to my head." Brock flung James off his shoulder and into the river below. Misty and Ash followed suit, swinging Jessie by her limbs over the edge. Pikachu and Togepi rolled Meowth off the cliff to join his dead comrades. The three trainers stood for a moment gazing into the water below them.

"Well, that takes care of that," Ash said, brushing the dirt off his hands. "Let's find us a good camping spot and turn in for the night, I'm beat."

"Sounds good," Misty agreed. "My arms are all stiff from dragging Team Rocket's bloated corpses around all day."

Ash and Misty turned their backs on the cliff and set off along the curving riverbank in search of a campsite. Brock took one last look into the raging waters, sighed, and followed his companions.

Ash, Brock and Misty trudged through the woods following the riverbank for at least half an hour before they came across a suitable campsite. It was a grassy meadow, not very large but right next to the river, about three quarters of a mile downstream from the rapids. The river flowed easily and was clear and cool. The sun was setting, so the three trainers pitched their tents and prepared to bed down for the night.

"Ah, this is great," Ash sighed as he and his two friends sat around a campfire toasting marshmallows. "Nothing like camping out with your friends."

"I can think of plenty of things more fun than this," Brock muttered.

"Are you kidding? What could be more fun than this?"

Brock started to say something, but a piercing glare from Misty convinced him to do otherwise. The three trainers sat in silence for a while. No one seemed to notice that Pikachu had stuck Togepi on a stick and was now trying to toast it over the fire like a marshmallow. Togepi, whose shell had acquired a healthy brown glow, was still squeaking happily.

The trio of trainers didn't say much more to each other before they decided to head to bed. The tents were set up in a triangle, with Brock's and Misty's tents along the riverbank and Ash's tent forming the point of the triangle. As everyone prepared for bed, a light drizzle started. By the time each trainer was comfortably nestled in a sleeping bag, the drizzle had become a deluge. As they slept, sheets of water poured off their tents and ran through the grass towards the river, which was rapidly overtaking its banks.

Brock was having a wonderful dream. He was at a fancy dress ball, and he had met the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. The two had hit it off right away, and were now passionately kissing each other in a stairwell.

A sudden splash of icy cold water startled Brock awake. He wearily thought of the dream he had been having, and how he could still feel the woman's lips on his. It felt so real…

Brock realized with a start that it _was_ real. His lips were actually touching another's; but it sure didn't feel like a gorgeous lady. The lips were too cold and clammy…

Misty was awakened by cold water rushing past her feet. Her tent had been flooded by the river, which had swelled considerably and had partially taken over the grassy meadow. Misty rushed to gather her things together and save them from the water; she then crawled outside and began to move her tent farther inland. As she finished replanting the last tent stake, she glanced over towards the river and noticed that Brock's tent was still in the floodwaters.

Not wanting to be responsible for yet another death, Misty decided to wake Brock up and help him move his tent out of harm's way. She approached the tent and pulled the flap back just enough to poke her head in.

"Brock? You awake?"

Misty didn't hear a reply, so she pulled her flashlight out of her pocket and shined it into the darkness of Brock's tent.

What Misty found in Brock's tent was Brock, his eyes wide open, lying on his back. On top of him was the corpse formally known as James, lying facedown. Brock's lips were touching those of the dead man.

"BROCK!! YOU FREAK!!"

"Hunh?" Brock muttered. He was still not quite awake and wasn't sure what was going on.

"YOU'RE DISGUSTING!! THAT'S NOT EVEN A GIRL!!"

Brock was now wide-awake, and suddenly he realized what was on top of him. With a jolt of horror, he also realized whom it was he had been kissing. Immediately he jumped out of his sleeping bag, sending dead James rolling into the pool of water that had accumulated in Brock's tent. Brock dived out of his tent and lay on the ground on his stomach, panting and spitting. He desperately grabbed handfuls of grass and shoved them in his mouth, trying to get rid of the taste of death on his tongue.

The screaming had woken Ash up. He sleepily emerged from his tent and found Brock on the ground eating grass, with Misty standing next to him looking disgusted.

"Hey Brock, if you're still hungry we've got plenty of rice balls left, you don't have to eat grass…"

Brock paid Ash no attention; he was still trying to cleanse his mouth of James. Misty just sighed and rolled her eyes.

Ash, Misty and Brock spent the rest of the night in Ash's tent, as it was the only dry one. However, no one could get back to sleep after what had happened earlier that

night. Ash and Misty sat discussing what to do with James now that he had washed ashore; Brock was huddled in a corner hugging his knees to his chest and whimpering softly.

When morning came, the three adventurers discovered that Jessie and Meowth had also washed ashore during the night. Some beavers had used the dead Rockets as logs in their dam upstream, and during the storm the dam had been broken and washed downstream. There were tooth marks on the Rockets and clumps of beaver fur in Meowth's claws.

Ash and Misty stood staring at the bodies of Team Rocket while Brock hung their camping gear on tree branches to dry.

"What the hell are we supposed to do about these things?" Ash complained. "Every time we get rid of them they come right back. It's like they're haunting us or something."

Brock shuddered over by the trees.

"Well," Misty thought aloud, "what if we just burn the bodies? They wouldn't be able to come back after that, right?"

Ash turned to glare at Misty.

"Well, gee, Misty, why couldn't you have thought of that yesterday? I mean come on, we went through all that trouble of burying them and throwing them off that cliff and now you're telling me we could've just lit them on fire in the first place and been done with it?"

"Don't you yell at me," Misty snapped back. "It's not my fault you and Brock were too dumb to think of that to begin with."

While Ash and Misty were arguing, Brock calmly gathered the bodies of Team Rocket and put them in a pile. He gathered some driftwood and threw it on top of the pile, then lit a match and tossed it on the pile. The wood, despite being soggy, caught quickly and soon there was a roaring bonfire. Ash and Misty turned to admire the flames.

Eventually the pile started to shrink and the flames started to die down. Ash, Brock and Misty sighed with relief.

"Well," Brock said happily, "I expect that's the last we'll see of dear departed Team Rocket."

"Yep," Ash agreed. "Now all that's left to do is put out this fire and scatter the ashes in the forest."

Ash, Misty and Brock rushed to the river to get buckets of water for putting out the fire, eager to end their ordeal once and for all. Even Pikachu helped, submerging porous Togepi in the water then squeezing it over the fire. After several trips back and forth from the river with more water, the fire went out with a plume of smoke.

The trainers drew nearer to the fire, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it did, they were greeted by the sight of Jessie, James and Meowth lying on the ground in a pile. Their clothes were singed, but they were otherwise undamaged.

Misty, Brock and Ash stood aghast.

"But…but…" Brock stammered.

"How…" Ash blurted.

"They must've been too wet to catch fire," Misty said quietly.

Ash began to swear in a rage, screaming every rude word he had ever heard in his life. Misty and Brock took a step back, shocked.

"Wow," Brock muttered to Misty. "I've never heard an eleven-year-old use words like that…"

"Yeah," Misty agreed. "Maybe we should do something…"

Pikachu tugged on the leg of Brock's pants, holding up a bar of soap.

Brock and Misty spent the next ten minutes trying to calm Ash down. At long last they found themselves sitting on a log, with Ash sitting between them, a blanket draped over his shoulders. Ash was shivering.

"There there," Misty cooed. She rubbed Ash's back.

"It's all right, buddy," Brock said in a comforting voice. "Everything will be all right, we'll figure this out."

Ash suddenly stood up. "That does it," he said, and began marching off into the forest.

"Wait, Ash," Misty called after him, "where are you going?"

Ash turned back, a look of fierce determination in his eyes.

"To get some fireworks."

Brock and Misty looked at each other, then hurriedly packed up the camping gear, grabbed the bodies of Team Rocket, and ran into the forest after Ash.

_So ends chapter three! Reviews are welcome._


	4. Chapter 4

The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own any of its characters. The story, however, is my own original work. Please note that this story may be posted on other websites under the pen name KFSevenSoviet, which is also mine, though I no longer use it.

Last time:

"_Wait, Ash,__" Misty called after him, "__where are you going?__"_

_Ash turned back, a look of fierce determination in his eyes._

_"__To get some fireworks.__"_

_Brock and Misty looked at each other, then hurriedly packed up the camping gear, grabbed the bodies of Team Rocket, and ran into the forest_ _after Ash._

Chapter 4

Misty and Brock had to walk quickly to keep up with Ash. It only took them about half an hour to reach the outskirts of a city, and Ash just kept on marching straight towards the market square. Brock and Misty hid in a dumpster with the bodies of the late Jessie, James and Meowth while Ash searched for fireworks.

"He's been gone a long time," Misty whispered while she and Brock crouched in the dumpster. "I hope he's okay…"

"I'm sure he's fine," Brock replied, "he's probably just haggling over the price."

Just then there was a knock on the side of the dumpster. Brock and Misty carefully lifted the lid and peeked out. There stood Ash, wearing a malicious grin. He held up a box. Inside were cherry bombs, firecrackers, M-80s, and several large, dangerous looking cylinders Brock and Misty had never seen before.

Brock and Misty scrambled out of the dumpster, then reached back in and pulled out the bodies of their former enemies.

"Let's do this," Ash said. He stuck an M-80 in Jessie's mouth.

"Wait, Ash," Misty said, holding out her arm. "Not here, people will see us."

"Not to mention," Brock added, "this is the middle of a city. We could kill hundreds of innocent people."

"Let's find an abandoned parking lot or something out of the way and do it there," Misty suggested.

Ash sighed. "Fine, fine, you win. We'll find an old shopping mall or something, and then we'll blow these bastards to kingdom come."

Ash picked up the box of explosives, Brock and Misty picked up the bodies, and

together they set off in search of a suitable detonation site.

An abandoned airstrip at the edge of town looked to be the perfect location for a fireworks display. Ash, Misty and Brock piled the bodies together in the middle of the airstrip and began stuffing and covering them with explosives. Misty looked up as she was stuffing a cherry bomb up James' nose. Brock was doing something with Jessie and an M-80.

"Brock, what the hell?! Don't put one there!"

It took the trio a bit longer to rig Team Rocket to explode than they had anticipated, due mostly to Misty having to frequently yell at Brock when he tried to stuff fireworks into questionable places, some in Jessie but most in James. When at last the task was complete, Brock wired all the fuses together, and then he and Misty stood back as struck a match and lit the master fuse. It began to burn down rapidly, much more rapidly than it should.

"Oh god, the jet fuel!" Brock said in a panic. "It must be accelerating the fire!"

"We've got to get the hell away from here!" Misty screamed. She, Ash and Brock took off for the edge of the airstrip at a sprint.

In the middle of the city people were going about business as usual. Young children crowded the markets, purchasing pokeballs and antidotes. An elderly gentleman strolled down the sidewalk with his faithful Growlithe by his side. Several Rattata played a sort of game with an empty soda can in the sewers.

The explosion took only an instant. For a few seconds, the entire city was engulfed in a bright white light. The sound was deafening. The people in the streets screamed in terror, afraid they were under attack. Then, as soon as it began, the light faded and the sound began a diminuendo into nothingness. Citizens picked themselves up from the streets and looked around in confusion, as if they were expecting to be dead. A thick black cloud of smoke hovered over the horizon to the north.

_That's it for chapter 4! Once again, reviews are welcome._


	5. Chapter 5

The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own any of its characters. The story, however, is my own original work. Please note that this story may be posted on other websites under the pen name KFSevenSoviet, which is also mine, though I no longer use it.

Last time:

_The explosion took only an instant. For a few seconds, the entire city was engulfed in a bright white light. The sound was deafening. The people in the streets screamed in terror, afraid they were under attack. Then, as soon as it began, the light faded and the sound began a diminuendo into nothingness. Citizens picked themselves up from the streets and looked around in confusion, as if they were expecting to be dead. A thick black cloud of smoke hovered over the horizon to the north._

Chapter 5

Ash woke up with a terrible headache. The explosion was like nothing he had ever experienced. He remembered running for his life with Misty and Brock. Then the shockwave had hit him with a force that threw him at least thirty meters. The flash was blinding, and his eardrums felt like they had been torn out. Then there was a sharp pain all over as his body had hit concrete and then everything went black.

Ash struggled to get up so he could go find his friends. Then he realized that the explosion wasn't the only reason his head hurt…

Misty awoke facedown on the tarmac with a horrid taste in her mouth. She rolled into a sitting position and realized with a start that the horrid taste was caused by gunpowder leaking from an unexploded M-80.

"EEEE!"

Misty tore the M-80 out of her mouth and hurled it as hard as she could towards the edge of the airstrip. There was a loud 'thwack.'

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Brock, is that you?" Misty called out in surprise. When she didn't get a reply she began jogging towards the source of the scream. There at the edge of the tarmac she found Brock, rubbing the back of his head angrily. He was sitting straddled atop what was once James; there were lip prints all over the dead man's face and Brock's mouth was tinged with soot.

"BROCK!! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Misty screamed. "THAT IS ABSOLUTELY DISGU – Wait, how is James still in one piece?"

Brock stood up, wiped the soot off his mouth with his sleeve, and shrugged. Misty shook her head in disgust. "C'mon you pervert, let's go find Ash."

Brock and Misty didn't have to search long before they found Ash lying on the tarmac as well, struggling to get up. Jessie, fully intact, was sprawled on top of him preventing him from moving.

"Eew, Ash, you too?!" Misty groaned.

"Huh?"

At the sound of Misty's voice, Ash struggled to roll over. When he finally succeeded, the sight that met him was not pleasant.

"AAAAAH! GETEROFFMEGETEROFFME!"

Misty and Brock hurried to shove Jessie's singed and battered body off of Ash. When they finished Ash laid on his back on the pavement, trying to catch his breath.

"Well," Ash said between gasps, "so much for that plan…"

"So what are we gonna do now?" Brock asked. The trio sat in silence for a while. Ash was the first to speak.

"I give up."

"What do you mean, you give up?" Misty asked indignantly.

"We tried burying them, we tried throwing them off a cliff, we tried blowing them up, and they're still here. So I give up. Let's just turn ourselves in to the police and hope for the best."

"Ash, are you sure about this?" Brock asked. "We could be locked up for a long time…"

"If that's what you really think we should do, Ash, I'll do it," Misty said. Ash simply nodded. Misty and Brock stood up and helped Ash to his feet, then the three set off solemnly towards the nearest police station.

Once at the police station, Ash took a deep breath before leading the group up the steps and through the doors to the front desk, where one of the ubiquitous Officer Jennies was flipping through paperwork. Ash cleared his throat softly.

"Can I help you?" Officer Jenny asked, looking up from her desk.

"We, uh, we're here to uh, turn ourselves in," Ash stammered.

"Turn yourselves in, huh?" Officer Jenny asked with a condescending smile. "What did you kids do? Did you steal a pack of gum?"

"Well, we, uh…" Ash seemed unable to find the words to tell the officer what he and his friends had accidentally done.

"We killed them," Misty blurted out. She then began sobbing.

"Killed? Who did you kill?" the officer asked, the condescension disappearing from her voice.

"Team Rocket," Misty sobbed. Ash too broke down into tears.

"We didn't mean to!" he cried. "It was an accident, an accident! They were trying to steal my Pikachu…pokemon…attacked…rock…blood everywhere…not moving…"

Ash fell silent again, unable to speak he was crying so hard. Brock retained his composure throughout the confession, though tears were now streaming down his face.

Officer Jenny sighed. "This could be pretty serious, kids. Why don't you take me to them, maybe they aren't really dead…"

Sniffling and shaking, the trio led Officer Jenny out of the police station and back to the abandoned airstrip where Team Rocket's bodies were still strewn. Jenny bent down to inspect one of the bodies. She stood up rather quickly.

"Oh, _this_ Team Rocket?" Jenny asked. "Don't worry about it kids, I'll let you go this time and we'll pretend like this whole thing never happened."

"You…you're just going to let us go?" Brock stammered. "But, we're murderers…"

Officer Jenny shrugged. "Honestly, I'm surprised those two haven't died a dozen times already. Besides, they were a major pain in the ass, always digging those holes…"

"So what should we do with the bodies?" Ash asked. "We tried everything, burying them, throwing them off a cliff, blowing them up, but they just keep coming back…"

Officer Jenny thought for a moment. "Well," she said at length, "if anyone's hungry…"

"Are you suggesting we _eat_ them?!" Brock said in confusion.

"Well, not _raw_," Officer Jenny replied. "Maybe grilled, with a little soy sauce…"

The three kids and the policewoman looked at each other for a moment. Finally Ash shrugged.

"All right then," he said. "But no hot sauce, I don't like things that are spicy."

"Ooh, can mine have gravy?" Misty asked excitedly as the four of them picked up the bodies of Team Rocket and started off back towards the police station.

"I'll contact the rest of the force, we can have a picnic!" Officer Jenny added. "There's enough here to feed at least a dozen!"

"Sounds great!" Brock commented. "I can help with the cooking, I've got this wonderful recipe for a lemon herb sauce…"

The End

_That really wrapped up nicely, wouldn't you say? Thanks for reading, and please review whether you liked it or not. ___


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